he Egyptian
troops under Nur Bey. I shall presently relate how this Mehrdi was
afterwards treated by the Sudanese.

Some say that the fall of Khartum had a very discouraging effect on the
gallant garrison of Sennar; but this was not so--they determined to make
a stand. The Mudir, Hassan Sadik, who had been put in chains by Nur Bey,
volunteered, if he should be released, to attack the rebels, and, in
fact, he succeeded in driving them off; but on his return to the town he
fell into an ambush and was killed. Brave Nur Bey again pursued the
enemy, and succeeded in inflicting a further defeat on them.

Abdel Karim now arrived with a large force, and summoned the garrison
to surrender. Nur Bey refused, and on the 16th of June the city was
assaulted; but Abdel Karim was driven back, and was himself wounded in
the thigh. He then decided to make the garrison capitulate by famine.
The siege was pressed very closely, and on the 18th of July Nur Bey made
a successful sortie, inflicting considerable loss on the enemy; but he
too was wounded in the leg, and was rendered permanently lame.

The determined defence of the town now induced the Khalifa to despatch
Wad En Nejumi with large reinforcements. Meanwhile the garrison had been
suffering greatly from famine, and Nur Bey had decided to make a last
sortie, which should be under the command of Hassan Bey Osman; but this
proved unsuccessful, the commander was killed on the 19th of August,
1885, and Nur Bey was forced to capitulate. Of the 3,000 men of whom the
garrison had originally consisted, 700 only remained--a tangible proof
of the vigorous and determined resistance they had made.

It is thought throughout the Sudan that the defence of Sennar was most
praiseworthy. Nur Bey still lives in Omdurman. Only last year his old
wound was cut open to remove the splinters of bone. He was better again
when I escaped, but is still lame. Wad En Nejumi arrived two days after
the fall of the town and found it in ruins. All that is left of Sennar
are a few mud and sand heaps, and its very name has ceased to exist,
although early in this century it was better known even than Dongola or
Kordofan.

Kassala alone was left. This town is situated on the Khor el Gash, not
far from the Atbara River, and about midway between Khartum and
Massawah. It had a population of 13,000, and was surrounded by a wall.
Here the celebrated moslem, Sid el Hassan, is buried, and a dome is
erected over his grave. Th